


Family... is Family

by Dragon_in_Disguise



Series: Milkovich Siblings [10]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Abusive Terry Milkovich, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Colin was a drunk basically, Emotional Mickey Milkovich, Good Sibling Iggy Milkovich, Heavy Angst, Help, Hurt Mickey Milkovich, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this in an hour, M/M, MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Older Sibling Iggy Milkovich, Past Abuse, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Iggy Milkovich, Season/Series 11, Spoilers, i watched it two hours ago, i'm so hurt over the last episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 17:48:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_in_Disguise/pseuds/Dragon_in_Disguise
Summary: Iggy gets a call he's been waiting for his whole life, but he can't celebrate yet - not when his baby brother is in distress.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Iggy Milkovich & Mickey Milkovich
Series: Milkovich Siblings [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645429
Comments: 14
Kudos: 139





	Family... is Family

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE RECENT EPISODE, I WOULD NOT READ THIS
> 
> THIS IS A DIRECT SEQUEL TO THE EPISODE
> 
> now that is explained, let me rant
> 
> HOLY FUCKING HELL I'm so happy Terry is finally fucking dead but the way Mickey reacted!! I'm in so much pain I fucking CAN'T
> 
> I had to write something to cope so here we are
> 
> I know this is obviously not how it's gonna happen cause Shameless forgot Iggy exists but fuck them I'm bringing Iggy and Colin into this because they are Mickey's brothers and SHOULD get a fucking moment about this but knowing the show they won't so I'll do it myself
> 
> anywho, enjoy this angst

Iggy groans in annoyance when a couple smacks to the arm pulls him from his sleep, shooting a glare over his shoulder at the girl he brought home last night. “The fuck, bitch?”

“Phone’s been buzzing for ten minutes,” she grumbles, burying her face back into her pillow. 

Iggy rubs his face and props himself up on his elbow, reaching over her for his nightstand where his buzzing phone sits. Eleven missed calls. All from Ian, who is currently calling him. Iggy frowns, answering the call and tucking the phone between his shoulder and cheek, reaching for a smoke and lighter. “Someone better be dead for you to call me this much on a fucking weekend.”

Ian is quiet for a moment. “Yeah, someone is.”

Iggy lies back down, setting the lighter aside and letting the cigarette sit between his lips. “Mickey okay?”

“No, not really,” Ian says softly, voice choked. “Um… Terry’s dead.”

Iggy sits up sharply, letting the cigarette drop. “What? What do you mean he’s dead?”

Ian sighs shakily. “Uh- remember how Mick said we were gonna hire him a nurse? She… she’s a nun and she fucking killed him with a plastic bag.”

Iggy reaches over and shoves the girl’s shoulder, making her yell in annoyance. “Get out. Now. Where are you guys?”

“My place. Mickey locked himself in our room.”

“Did he see Terry?”

“Yeah…” 

“Fuck,” Iggy curses, yanking on his jeans. “How did he react?”

Ian hesitates. “Uh… wasn’t too thrilled. Started crying…” 

Iggy guessed so. That was the difference between them - Mickey has a big heart. 

Growing up, Terry was always a shit dad. He had Iggy start dealing when he was only thirteen. He verbally abused Colin so much it drove him to drink by fourteen. It took years for Iggy to get him into rehab. He pushed Mickey around and never once hid his homophobic beliefs around him, leading Mickey to hide away his sexuality in fear for his life. He raped and got Mandy pregnant and tried to blame Ian for it all. 

Iggy hates him. 

Iggy will never forgive Terry for anything he did. He hates him so much it took everything in him not to find Terry as soon as he was out of the hospital and put a bullet through his stupid fucking skull. 

Mickey is… different. 

Iggy learned long ago Terry will never love any of them, that he’s a cold-hearted psychopath who will never be a real father to him. Colin drank his feelings away and is rather numb these days, still slipping here and there with his drinking problem. He’s, what? On a three-month clean streak now? Iggy’s proud of him for that, but he won’t be surprised if he slips up sometime soon. Mandy was the pure definition of a girl with daddy issues - it was hard for Iggy to watch her go from one man to another, looking for anyone to show a single ounce of care for her. When she landed with that one Gallagher - Lip? - she fell hard because he did care for a while, Iggy could see it. But she became clingy, according to him. She became afraid of losing him and stepped out of line. With the best relationship gone, she went with a physically abusive prick and said this was the best for her now. Wherever she is now, Iggy knows she’ll give less of a fuck about Terry’s death, completely emotionally distanced from him now. 

Mickey tried to hate him, but in the end, Iggy could see he was just a kid who wanted a dad to approve of him. Mickey always tried to win his approval, getting into fights at school to show he was tough like him, getting those tattoos just to make him smile. Mickey tried to be someone he wasn’t just to make his dad proud. 

Iggy refused to help when Terry got shot. Mickey knew better than to ask Colin, knowing he’s struggling with his own issues still. Mickey kept Iggy updated though - would text him telling him Terry’s still alive, decently okay and shit like that. He remembers the text he got yesterday from Mickey, telling him he’s gonna hire a nurse to watch Terry now since their cousins bailed. Iggy texted him not to bother, but Mickey was pretty adamant about getting one. Iggy felt a little bad since Mickey and Ian are trying to get their own place still and offered to help pay when they find one. Mickey said thanks and that was it. 

The nurse fucking killed him? Jesus, that’s fucking fantastic. Iggy is thrilled! His piece of shit sperm donor is finally gone, done from ruining their lives further. He’s not the least bit concerned about Terry - he’s concerned about his baby brother who still gave a shit about the fucker. 

Iggy doesn’t bother to make sure his hook-up leaves - there’s nothing in his piece of shit apartment she can steal - calling up Colin about the news as he drives for the Gallagher house. As he suspected, Colin doesn’t react much. He sort of chuckles, almost in disbelief. “A nun? That’s fucking rich.”

“Right?” Iggy snorts, shaking his head. “Mickey found him. Gonna go check on him.”

“Shit, really? Damn. Uh- keep me updated, ‘kay? If we bury him, I wanna piss on his grave.”

“Same,” Iggy smirks and hangs up, tossing his phone into the other seat. He considers calling Mandy but saves that for later, knowing she’s probably working right now and doesn’t need this. 

He lets himself in through the back door as it’s never locked, finding the other Gallaghers sitting in the kitchen, quiet. Carl shoots him a grim look, Debbie picking up Franny and walking out into the living room and not sparing him a look. He doesn’t really care - he hardly knows these fuckers aside from an occasional visit. 

Ian stands up from the staircase, half-dressed in his dumb-as-fuck dealing get-up he and Mickey got going on. Ian looks grim, jerking his head up before he heads upstairs, Iggy right behind him. 

Ian hesitates outside the sliding door, glancing at Iggy before he knocks lightly. “Mickey?”

Ian steps back when something crashes against the door, making it jerk harshly and glass shatter against the floor. “Fuck off!”

Iggy looks at Ian, frowning at the way Mickey’s voice cracked. He wasn’t ever sure how upset Mickey would be when Terry finally kicked the bucket. Sighing, he steps closer this time, knocking. “Mick, it’s Iggy.”

Thankfully, nothing gets thrown against the door again. A few moments pass before he hears a pitiful “He’s dead, Ig.”

“I know,” Iggy says softly, leaning against the wall by the door. Ian looks conflicted, clearly on the same boat as Iggy. Ian only ever saw Terry’s bad side - not that his good side was really ever there, but Iggy has seen it. Maybe once or twice. Mickey saw it more than them - maybe ten times at most? Anytime he won a fight or when he got those tattoos - Terry expressed his glee then and Mickey soaked that shit up. Mickey desperately craved his approval, always. 

“She fucking- she suffocated him,” Mickey chokes out, sounding much closer. 

Iggy leans his head against the doorframe, frowning sadly. “I know.” Ian shifts on his feet, worrying his lip between his teeth. He obviously wants to go to Mickey, to comfort him. Iggy gets it. 

They both step back when the door suddenly slides open. Mickey stands there - half-dressed like Ian in only his weird camouflage pants and simple t-shirt - face twisted in pain and eyes glossy. He looks between them, tense as all hell. His breath hitches and he blinks rapidly and that’s when Ian moves, stepping forward and wrapping Mickey up in his arms. Mickey’s eyes squeeze shut, wrapping his arms around Ian’s shoulders tightly. Iggy watches them sadly, heart clenching at seeing him like this. 

The last time Mickey cried about Terry, it was because he dumped them at the fucking Family Services so he could run drugs for the Sinaloa cartel. A whole goddamn year. When Terry didn’t come back that night, Iggy held Mickey as he cried - being such a young kid, around ten or eleven, Mickey didn’t hold back then. Colin did the same with Mandy, the two doing nothing but holding and watching as their baby siblings fell apart at being abandoned. 

“It’s okay,” Ian murmurs into Mickey’s ear, cupping the back of his head and swaying with him gently. “It’s okay, I got you… shh…” 

“He’s f-fucking dead,” Mickey chokes out again, voice muffled in Ian’s shoulder. 

“I know,” Ian whispers. 

It takes another few moments for them to pull back. Ian cups his face, wiping away the few tears that fell. Mickey ducks his head, lips quivering. He looks up and meets Iggy’s gaze, a flash of guilt crossing his features. Iggy frowns, but Mickey opens his mouth, voice quiet. “I should be fucking happy…” 

Ian looks at Iggy for help. Iggy tries to smile, but he can only twitch his lips up slightly. “It’s okay, Mick. You can be upset.” 

“He was a fucking asshole,” Mickey breathes out, hands trembling at his sides. “A homophobic, abusive piece-of-shit that tried to kill me. H-He got you into dealing! He r-raped Mandy! Drove Colin to become an a-alcoholic! He…! He-” Mickey breaks off, squeezing his eyes shut again and covering his face. 

Iggy swallows, unsure of what to say. He can’t understand what Mickey is feeling. He’s been imagining Terry’s death since he was fifteen. The only thing he’s really upset about is that he didn’t do it himself. He’s not mad that Mickey is upset - it’s a fucking given when it comes to abused kids. Iggy is lucky he was able to not get a shit about Terry’s approval in him. Colin is too numb to care and Mandy distanced herself years ago. Mickey never got to that point. He never got past his desperate need for a fucking father. 

Iggy tried, he really did. He tried to raise Mickey and his siblings as best as he could. He put the food on the table, made sure Mandy stayed in school and convinced Terry to keep Mickey out of their runs. He knew for years that Mickey was gay and dropped subtle hints he knew, but he never pushed Mickey to come out. Mickey always looked like a deer in the headlights. It pissed Iggy off that it was because of Terry’s ridiculous views on gay people. 

Ian cups the back of his head and holds him close again, wincing when Mickey’s body shakes against his. Mickey uncovers his face to grip Ian's shirt, hiding his face in his neck and breathing shakily. Iggy can hear him trying to not cry. 

“Yeah, he was a fucking asshole,” Iggy says, voice void of any emotion, “but he was our dad.” He hesitates, gaze locking with Ian’s for a moment. “Family is family.”

Ian presses his lips together, running his fingers through Mickey’s hair. Mickey nods, shifting back again and rubbing at his face harshly, eyes red and still wet. “Family… is family.”

Iggy nods. “Don’t feel bad for being upset, Mick. I get it.”

Mickey looks at him, gaze unsure. “You upset?”

Iggy sighs and shakes his head. “No.”

“Stupid, right?” Mickey tries to laugh, looking down. “He tried to kill me and…” 

“Don’t, Mick,” Iggy murmurs. “Don’t push down what you’re feeling. It won’t do you any good.”

Mickey opens and closes his mouth, nodding slowly. He takes a step back before he turns and sits down on their bed, staring down at his hands. Iggy looks at Ian, sighing softly. “Gonna go make a few stops. Keep me updated.”

Ian nods, mouthing a “Thank you” to him. Iggy nods curtly and slides the door shut for them, turning and heading down the hall. 

He can’t bring himself to be happy yet. Not while Mickey is grieving.

**Author's Note:**

> SLAMS HEAD AGAINST WALL
> 
> fuck this show i'm in so much pain
> 
> welp as always kudos and comments are very much appreciated! If y'all got any prompts for this series, comment them below!


End file.
